Never Forget

6 Oct 2016

6 October 2016 marks the 40th anniversary of the watershed October 6 Thammasat massacre. In the 40 years that have elapsed, artists have strived to keep the memory of the massacre alive, as it remains a taboo topic in Thailand’s history.

For instance, Manit Sriwanichpoom has created an iconic series titled “Horror In Pink”, in which his character the Pink Man, standing without emotion, is photo-shopped onto Neal Ulevich’s horrendous photographs from 1976.

For Chiang Mai-based artist Thasnai Sethaseree, images of gruesome scenes are smudged over with bright paint, echoeing the state’s constant attempt to make this episode of brutality fade into abstraction.